Hat



1929 J. J. DEsMoND Sept. 24,

HAT

Filed April 9, 1927 V5 mE D. d m J ATTORNEY;

Patented Sept. 24, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAT Application sied April e,

The present invention relates to improve# ments in hats and particularly stiff strawbraid hats, and has for an object to provide a hat of this character of relatively light i Weight and which will readily conform to and comfortably fit the head of the wearer. further object is to provide a hat which will be i'elatively simple in construction and less expensive than stiff straw hats heretofore manufactured, and in which a considerable saving in straw-braid is effected.

It is particularly proposed to provide an improved brim formed of a single layer or winding of braid in which one exposed edge is necessarily directed inwardly toward the crown and the other exposed edge is directed outwardly toward the outer edge of the b rim, and whichY according to my invention is so constructed and arranged that the machine chain stitching will be entirely concealed.'V It is `further proposed to provide a brim which will be relatively flexible adjacent the crown and in which thea-rrangement of the braid is such that gaping open of the edges at one side is prevented by the manner and arrangement of the stitching, while gaping open of the edges of the braid at the other side will not be noticeable because ofthe fact that these edges are directed toward the crown. A

still further object is to' provide an improved reinforced edge construction adapted to completely conceal the stitching of the outermost braid winding of the brim. v

With the above and other objects in view,

embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, and these embodiments will be hereinafter more full described with reference thereto and the invention will be finally pointed out inthe claims.

In the drawings: l

Fig. l is a perspective view of a straw hat, according to the present embodiment of the invention, a portion of the band being broken away. a

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatical sectional view of a portion of the crown and the brim.

Fig. 3y is a diagrammatical sectional view of the outer edge of the brim of a slightly modified form of brim construction.

1927. Serial No. 182,204.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of several of the overlapped and machine stitched braid windings.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the machine stitching as employed in the brim.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of braid.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of several windings assembled according to the invention.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of another inodi- 60 fied form of brim.

Referring to the drawings t-lie straw hat, according to the present embodiment of the invention, comprises a crown 10, the strawbraid of which is arranged and stitched in the usual manner, the exposed edges of the braid being directed outwardly in the top ofthe crown and downwardly in the sides thereof.

The straw-braid employed in the brim may be of any type, but preferably has both of its edges finished, as both edges are exposed, as distinguished from certain types of braid of which one edge is a right or finished edge, while the other edge is a wrong or unfinished edge, the right edge adapted to be exposed while the wrong edge is concealed in the under surface of the brim. In hats employing this type of braid the brim was generally made of two separate brim sections or layers, so that the unfinished edges were disposed and concealed between these layers. More particularly the double layer was employed to conceal the machine stitching in which the chain or under stitches were disposed at one side of the layer, While the tacking loops eX- tended to the other side, these tacking loops, as is Well known, being very small and practically invisible. Exposed chain stitching is inattractive and gets soiled very readily, so that while cheap hats have heretofore been made with a single layer brim, the bet-ter grade hats have invariably employed two brim sections or layers, with the chain stitching concealed between the layers. According to the present embodiment of my invention, the brim 11 is composed of a single layer of circumferentially Wound overlapped strawbraid having the edges of the braid at the upper side directed inwardly toward the crown, The machine stitching for securing der side of the work in the machine.I whilek the tacking loops extend to the upper side,

and heretofore the triple threads have been exposed in the furnished brim layer. In making a brim according to the illustrated embodiment of the invention the' same is inverted in the machine, so that when reversed, upon completion, the connecting threads 12 are at the upper side of the braid windings of the brim and are so positioned with respect to the overlapping edges that each successive winding of the braid conceals the chain stitches 12 of the previous winding, so

that in the completed brim the stitching is entirely concealed at the upper side, while on the under side only the tacking loops are exposed, and these are practically invisible.

he inner edge of the brim is turned in as at 14, and is secured to the side of the crown as by stitching 15, this stit-ching, of course, being concealed by the hat band. K

In order to reinforce the outer edge of the brim and to conceal the chain stitches 12 of the stitching thread of the outermost braid winding, a braid winding 16 is secured to the said outermost winding by machine stitches disposed inwardly of the stitching of the outermost winding, and having the chain stitches 12 at the upper side. A second winding 17 is thereupon stitched'to the winding 16 b y inverting the position of the brim in the machine, and separating the winding 1G from y the outermost brim winding during the stitching, so that the chain stitches 12 are at the under side of the winding 16 and are therefore concealed between this winding and the outermost brim winding.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a slightlymodified construction in which a single reinforcing and stitch concealing winding 18 is secured to the outermost winding of the brim by hand stitching 19, it being possible with handv stitching to conceal the threads, so that they are practically invisible.

The brim is adapted to be stifi'ened by sizing and pressing in the usual manner, andfinV order to render the section of the brim con-A tiguous to the crown flexible, the straw-braid in this section may either be free from sizing or treated with a diluted sizing solution. This section is indicated in Fig. 2 by the light section lines. The single layer brim according tomy invention will be inherently more flexible than the double layerbrims heretofore in use, and due to the great reduction in the amount of braid used, will be considerably lighter in weight and less expensive. The improved hat will have the attractive appeal'- ance and serviceability of double thickness brimmed hats, with the light weight advantage of single thickness brims, and without the objectionable exposed chain stitches herctofore incident to the production of single thickness brims. i'

In Figs. 6 and 7 I have illustrated a modified form of braid made from two pieces of braidV each having al finished saw tooth or other ornamental right edge 21 and an unnished or wrong edge 22, and eachY of which has a finishedupper surface and an unnished under surface. The two pieces of braid are super-imposed in opposite relation with the Vunfinished under surfaces engaged with each other and with thev finished lor right edges projecting, and the braid is thereupon machine stitched, preferably along a line near the wrong or unfinished edges of the braid, as clearly indicated in Fig. 6, the chain stitches 12 being at the one'side while the tacking loop portions extend to the other side. This double thickness braid is used in making up the hat brim in the same manner as iny the first embodiment of the invention, the overlapping of the windings beingsuch that the chain stitches of the stitchingfbind the two pieces of braid together and are covered and concealed by the overlapping of the windings at one side, and the chain stitches of the stitching securing the windings together are also covered and concealed by the overlapping of the windings. In the finished ido hat the structure is such that both the upper and lower surfaces are identical in appearance, the finished edges being directed toward the crown at one side and being direc-ted toward the outer edge of the brim on the other side. The outer winding is adapted to have the exposed chain stitches concealed in the same manner as described with reference to the embodiment shown in Fig. 2.

I also propose to employ the improved single thicknessconcealed stitch brim structure in combination with a double thickness brim, for the purpose of providing a flexible headconforming area adjacentthe crown, and in Fig. 8 I have illustrated a hat structure according to this embodiment, the single thickness concealed stitch section being indicated at 23, while the double thickness brim section, stitched to its outer edge, is indicated at 24;. j

I have illustrated and described a preferred and satisfactory rembodiment of the invention, ,but it will be obvious that changes may be made therein, withinL the spirit and scope thereof, as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. In a straw-braid hat, a crown, and a single thickness brim formed of successive circumferential windings of a continuous partially overlapped braid, and stitching for securing the windings to one another, comprising the continuous chain portions of a inachine-stitching` disposed at one side ot' the braid and small substantially spaced tacking portions at the other side extending from said chain portions through the preceding overlapped winding near one edge thereof, said chain portions being covered and concealed by the overlapped marginal edge portion oi the successively stitched following winding disposed in overlying relation to the chain portions of the stitching of the preceding winding.

2. In a straw-braid hat, a crown, and a single thickness brim formed of successive circumferential windings of a continuous partially overlapped braid, and stitching for securing the windings to one another, and substantially concealed at both sides of the brim, comprising the continuous chain portions of a machine-stitching disposed at one side of the braid and the spaced tacking por'- tions of the stitching extending from said chain portions through the preceding overlapped winding near one edge thereof, said chain portions being covered and concealed by the overlapped marginal edge portion of the successively stitched winding disposed in overlying relation to the chain portion of the stitching of the preceding Winding, and a reinforcing strip secured upon the last winding and adapted to cover and conceal the exposed chain portions of the stitching of said winding.

3. In a straw-braid hat, a crown, and a single thickness brim formed of successive circumferential windings of a continuous partially overlapped braid, and stitching for securing the windings to one another, and substantially concealed at both sides of the brim, comprising the continuous chain portions of a machine-stitching disposed at one side of the braid and the spaced tacking portions of the stitching extending from said chain portions through the preceding overlappedV winding near one edge thereof, said chain portions being covered and concealed by the overlapped marginal edge portion of the successively stitched winding disposed in overlying relation to the chain portion of the stitching of the preceding Winding, and a reinforcing strip secured upon the last winding and adapted to cover and conceal the eX- posed chain portions of the stitching of said winding, a stitching securing said strip and comprising chain portions at one side and tacling portions extending through said strip and said last winding, and a second reinforcing strip engaged upon said first strip, 

